Defund the police

The push to defund the police is not simply a push for sanctions against a broken and structurally racist system. Defunding the police is the solution for a failed system that will continue to fail the public until it is removed entirely. The concept of defunding the police wouldn’t remove the presence of law enforcement completely. Instead it would shift the focus towards a more community based approach. The funds would instead go to community outreach programs and social services ^[1]. A study using 60 years of data found that over the years, increasing police presence and force has done nothing to lower crime rates. Instead, many social scientists argue that equal, quality education, as well as solid work infrastructure is what successfully reduces crime in communities^[2]. Defunding the police would reallocate money into educational institutions and, in turn, create more jobs. Many people of color simply do not trust the police. This history of distrust stems all the way back to the founding of law enforcement in America, which started as slave patrol in the south^[3]. Many communities of color still don’t feel protected by their local police departments and would rather see the safety of their community in the hands of their community^[1].